Code of the Street: Decency, Violence, and the Moral Life of the Inner City

As an African American himself, Anderson moves through the middle- and lower-class Philadelphia neighborhoods with ease, interviewing a variety of subjects, all of whom deal daily with consequences of urban decay--from the high-achieving young woman who had to reject her poorer relatives to better herself, to the former delinquent who tries to go straight after returning from prison. For Anderson, these are the true heroes of Code of the Street: people who overcome the temptations of the streets to help create a better space for the next generation. --Eugene Holley Jr.

Product Description
Inner-city black America is often stereotyped as a place of random violence; in fact, violence in the inner city is regulated through an informal but well-known code of the street. How you dress, talk, and behave can have life-or-death consequences, with young people particularly at risk. This incisive book examines the code as a response to the lack of jobs that pay a living wage, to the stigma of race, to rampant drug use, to alienation and lack of hope. An individual's safety and sense of worth are determined by the respect he commands in public--a deference frequently based on an implied threat of violence. Unfortunately, even those with higher aspirations can often become entangled in the code's self-destructive behaviors. Winner of the Komarovsky Book Award.

I had the pleasure meeting Elijah Anderson, and he is a completely a very nice person and keeps things "real." He is not some type of "wanna be" researcher who is trying to write a book about the innercity people, and don't have a clue about how people in the innercity lives. He has experience of living in the innercity, and he wrote this book (along with others) to help explain to others how the situation is in the innercity. I totally support his work.


Excellent book!   July 9, 2003
Amanda Markham-Malkowski (IN, USA)
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I came away from this book with quite a bit.
One of the most important things is the difference between street and decent. It is difficult to figure out who is who. Its supposed to be that way. Its about survival.
Anderson breaks stereotypes. He gives a thorough description of the oppositional culture. He discusses sex and children without full responsibility as proof of manhood. He also includes what girls are trying to gain as well. He points out that by the time that children enter fourth grade they already know that respect in the education system is very different from that on the streets. Its encredibly difficult for children and it shouldn't be this hard.
I think that in order to solve a problem you need to know what the problem is. He lays this out very well. I liked it so much that I have started to read Streetwise.


Code of the Street   January 18, 2006
Melissa (Buffalo NY)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful

This book in my opinion should be required text for any sociology class dealing with the issues of class, race, cities and violence. I found this book while i was searching for books to write my undergraduate thesis. This book paired with a book by Carl Upchurch was the main focus and content of my thesis. i am currentlly using this book for my masters thesis. This book describes life in Philly but once you get into it, it could be any mid-sized city in America. It highlights the struggles that todays youth go through on a daily basis to be either "decent" or "street" and unfortunatly at times the line between the two isn't clear and everyone is lumped as "street". Hands down one of the best books i've read on the subject.